Kingston Penitentiary

In 1999, prisoner Ty Conn escaped from the Kingston Pen. Although there had been at least 26 escape attempts since 1836, Conn was the first to succeed since 1958. He committed suicide in Toronto.

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The big house - Kingston Penitentiary - was opened in 1835. It became known as Canada's Alcatraz.

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Before that fateful night when his entire family was massacred in their southern Ontario home, the patriarch of the Black Donnellys, James, served time in the Kingston Pen for murdering Patrick Farrell over a land dispute. He was sentenced to be hanged on Sept. 17, 1858, but his wife, Johannah, asked for clemency on his behalf and he only served seven years. He'd be murdered, along with four members of his family, on Feb. 4, 1880 in the Biddulph Horror. Here, brothers Bob and Tom Donnelly with a drawing of James Donnelly Sr.

The exterior of the Regional Treatment Centre at the Kingston Penitentiary. Jeff Bassett/QMI Agency

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The Vampire Rapist, Wayne Boden was a serial killer who was active between 1969 and 1971. He got his nickname for biting the breasts of his victims. Raised near Hamilton, Ont., Boden killed three women in the Montreal area and one in Calgary. He was sentenced to three life sentences on Feb. 16, 1972. He died in custody March 27, 2006.

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One of the guard towers at Kingston Penitentiary in Kingston, Ont. MICHAEL LEA/QMI AGENCY

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In a Fri., Jan. 29, 2010 file photo, passing underneath artwork created by past inmates, inmate Dave Gagnier paces up and down the gym with Face during the pet therapy program inside the Regional Treatment Centre which is located inside Kingston Penitentiary. MICHAEL LEA/QMI AGENCY

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Kingston Penitentiary is seen in this March 26, 2008, file photo. Mark Bonokoski/QMI Agency

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Clifford Olson fancied himself a boxer. The convicted murderer of 11 mugged for the camera at Kingston Penitentiary in the early 90's for the Toronto Sun. QMI Agency File Photo.

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A troubled youth born in Cornwall, Ont., bank robber Roger Caron spent most of his life growing up in reformatories and mental institutions, breaking out of at least a dozen prisons and jails over his lifetime. He wrote the book Go-Boy! about life behind bars, which won the 1977 Governor General's Award for non-fiction. He also wrote the book Bingo! The Horrifying Eyewitness Account of a Prison Riot about the 1971 Kingston Penitentiary riot. Caron died earlier this month. MARK BONOKOSKI

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The front gate and one of the guard towers at Kingston Penitentiary in Kingston, Ont., is seen Thursday, April 19, 2012. MICHAEL LEA/QMI AGENCY

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A former colonel in Canada's air force, running the country's largest air base, Russell Williams was jailed for the sex-slayings of two women in 2010. Williams was sentenced to two concurrent life sentences for first-degree murder in the sex-slayings of Jessica Lloyd, 27, and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 38. He was also convicted in two sexual assaults and dozens of fetish break-ins dating back to 2007, in which he stole women's underwear and photographed himself wearing the garments. He remains in the Kingston Penitentiary in a cell near Bernardo.

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Convicted in 1995 of kidnapping, raping and murdering Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy, Paul Bernardo was also known as the Scarborough Rapist, sexually assaulting at least 14 women in southern Ontario. In September 1995, Bernardo was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. He was later declared a dangerous offender, meaning he may never get out. His partner in crime in the Mahaffy and French murders, Karla Homolka, received a 12-year sentenced and left the country after her release.

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The front gate at Kingston Penitentiary in Kingston, Ont. On April 19, 2012, the federal government announced the prison will be closing. MICHAEL LEA/QMI AGENCY